Changes
by GoblinSword
Summary: Harry is somewhat a celebrity after the Second Wizarding War, but things aren't as easy for Draco Malfoy. With two dysfunctional parents and an unforgiving press, Draco can only rely on the mercy of the golden trio.


**Changes**

**Disclaimer: All I own is the plot, everything else is J.K. Rowling's.**

Chapter 1

Draco just had to accept that he was lost. He'd never be able to make his speech now. Not that he was complaining but his mother would be furious. Lucius had downright refused to come, but Draco had given in to his mother's pleading and agreed to make a stupid speech. "The Battle of Hogwarts Formal Speech Day". What a joke. He really didn't like the idea of making a speech to all those hateful faces, however his mother was desperate to get the Malfoy name cleared and he couldn't say no to his mother.

"Forget this," muttered Draco, stepping out of the muggle vehicle that he had been driving. He disapparated, leaving the car in the middle of the road probably causing a whole load of chaos but they were only muggles.

Pop.

He had appeared outside a large building. He put his ear to the door and listened. Oh, great. They had already started listing all those who had died in the war. Draco felt a surge of shame. He didn't know why, it wasn't his fault these people had died. He walked over to the side of the building where there was a large window.

Merlin, the place was packed. He simply could not make a speech in front of these people, especially since his mother had forced him to apologise for his behaviour towards "the trio". What a joke. He squinted to see if he could spot his mother but she didn't seem to be there.

"Oh well, may as well go home now..." Draco thought to himself.

He turned around, and jumped to see a pale, slim blonde figure standing there by a car.

"Mother... You.. you startled me!"

Narcissa frowned. "You look lovely," he said, indicating to her elegant green robes. Her frown became deeper.

"Flattery won't work, son. Frankly, I am astounded that you would apparate in the middle of a muggle road."

"Oh... Well I..er.."

"Are you STUPID?"

"Mother I..."

"'Mother I'" she mimicked. "You what?"

"I can't... I can't drive! I mean, I'm not a muggle, am I?"

"Stupid boy... Just go in. And remember what I said, you fool of a boy. Good luck Draco, I love you!"

Was she bipolar?

"Mother, where are you going?" he asked. "I thought you'd come... Yknow, for moral support? I've got no one there, mother. They'll be throwing rotten tomatoes at me, I just know... The lot of them, they hate me."

"Well, maybe you should've developed better social skills at Hogwarts," Narcissa replied, and with that she stormed off. Draco gulped, and turned towards the door.

* * *

Harry sat at the front, trying to block out the names being read by Flitwick, who had agreed to host this event. He'd rather be at the back somewhere, but instead he sat on what may as well have been a throne, plonked rather distastefully at the front of the large hall, just a couple of feet away from the stage. Suddenly, large double doors at the back of the hall swung open. He turned his head, and was surprised to see none other than Draco Malfoy trying to creep in but failing because everyone was looking at him. He looked uncomfortable, and didn't take a seat but stood against the wall at the back, looking at his feet and scratching his head. Most people turned back to the stage but Harry saw a handful of people scowling at Malfoy, who had his gaze fixed at the floor but Harry could tell by his shifty glances that he sensed the air of unwelcome.

Finally, all of the names had been announced and the first person who had opted to make a speech appeared on the stage. It was a small boy in his third year at Hogwarts. There were lots of "aww"s at lines such as "Harry Potter is and has always been my inspiration," and "When I grow up I want to be Harry Potter." Harry didn't really know how to react in these moments, so he just smiled awkwardly.

* * *

What felt like several hours passed while people were performing their speeches, and Draco was gradually descending as he slumped more and more against the wall, until he was practically sitting on the floor. The only speech that had really been interesting was the mudblood Granger's. But he wasn't allowed to use that word, was he? The ministry had made it punishable by a small fine. Draco didn't like this new pathetic excuse for a minister. What a joke. It wasn't as if he still hated the magical offspring of muggles, but old habits die hard. He looked over at the Granger girl, her words replaying in his head.

"I don't think anyone could say they enjoyed the search for Horcruxes, but I would never go back and tell my younger self to stay away from Harry and Ron to avoid having to remove your parents' memory of you and risk your life and sanity. I mean I always knew that there would be cons to our friendship, right from the start. I still blame them for many things, like being stuck in the girls' bathroom with a troll, but they're the best friends I could ever ask for and I know that I'd do all of this twice rather than not be friends with them in the first place..." Draco found this concept bewildering. He had never really considered what these three annoying, insufferable Gryffindors went through, and he had never even thought about the strength of their friendship. Maybe it was just him who had never had friends like this. Friends who'd risk everything for each other; he was curious and almost jealous.

It took him a while to realise that the Granger girl was staring right back at him, but with a "what in the world are you doing" expression on her face. It took him even longer to realise that everyone in the hall was staring at him with the same expression.

"Er, Draco Malfoy..." said Flitwick. "It is time for you to make your speech."

Oh dear. Draco didn't even want to think about how long he had been in a daze while everyone was waiting for him to come up to the stage.

* * *

Harry felt a mixture of sympathy, confusion and amusement as Malfoy made his way to the stage. Why the hell had he opted to make a speech?

"This'll be interesting..." muttered Ron from beside Harry. Harry agreed. "Why was he looking at us?"

"Dunno... I think he was looking at Hermione." Harry looked down at Hermione (his seat was even taller than Ron and Hermione's VIP seats). Ron laughed, probably thinking the same absurd thought as Harry had. They looked at each other for a long and dubious moment.

"No," they both said, but they seemed to still find the idea of Malfoy liking Hermione hilarious, because when he cleared his throat on stage they were still chuckling silently to themselves. Malfoy opened and shut his mouth a few times, before taking a breath and speaking.

"I... Many people - died...in the second wizarding war. They... they will all be missed and I send my...apologies...to all their families and dear ones. I... I thought I'd be one of them. I know what it's like to be threatened by...him. You make mistakes and, to everyone who felt they had no other choice, I'm... I understand. Um..." Malfoy looked up for the first time. "I know people here think my family are all...were all involved. I'm not denying it. But my mother only did it for me...so he wouldn't kill me..."

Harry could tell that from the second the words escaped Malfoy's mouth, he wanted to take them back. This wasn't going too well.

"Anyway, I owe an apology to many people, so um, sorry if I ever..." Harry now felt utterly sorry for Draco. He was so glad he didn't have to make a speech. "...mistreated you. And...have a nice day."

There was a brief, tense silence before a few people started clapping. Flitwick ushered Malfoy into the room behind the stage where the speechmakers got their certificates.

"Thank God that was short, I was embarrassed for him," Harry said quietly.

"Yes, I suspect Narcissa put him up for it, she's been obsessing over her family's social image," Hermione said.

"Right bunch of fakers... Acting as if they weren't right in the inner circle," said Ron.

"Yeah well, it seems to have touched Ollivander over there," Harry pointed out, nodding behind him towards the wand-maker weeping uncontrollably.

"'Course," said Ron. "All that stuff about being threatened and making mistakes. Can we leave now? I'm hungry."

"Yeah, I think it's over..." Harry replied.

He looked around, but no one seemed to be leaving.

"And of course," announced Flitwick. "We cannot end this special day without a speech from our hero."

Oh God...

"Our saviour..."

Please no...

"Harry James Potter!"

Everyone broke into applause. Hermione pushed Harry off his seat, somewhere between encouragingly and aggressively. He should have known he'd have to speak whether he chose to or not. Slowly, Harry walked towards the stage. Flitwick beamed up at him.

"Professor, I haven't..." Harry then realised that the stage was charmed so that everyone could hear what he was saying. "prepared a speech," he finished his sentence. Everyone roared with laughter. What...

"Now, now, dear!" The short man laughed. "It's not supposed to be a sermon! Just say a few words to the audience!" Harry turned to face them. Suddenly their kind, encouraging faces appeared formidable and evil. Harry cleared his throat.

"Well... Hello everyone." A few people waved enthusiastically. It suddenly occurred to Harry that it didn't matter what he said, everyone would love him anyway. With this thought in mind, Harry continued, now much more confident. "Firstly I just want to say sorry for anyone who has lost someone in the war. Just remember that they died as heroes. Secondly, everyone who fought, or helped in some way, thank you for being so brave. I honestly wouldn't be here if so many people hadn't helped. I just want to say, though, that without my friends, and without the Order and everyone, Voldemort would still be alive. Yes, I finished him off, but we defeated him together." This was awfully cheesy, but people were clapping vigorously and some seemed to be close to tears. "And... That's all I have to say really! Okaythanksgoodnightbye." Harry half ran to the room behind the stage, not wanting to be there a second longer. He shut the door behind him and a certificate flew at the speed of light over to him on its own accord, startling Harry so much that he fell over.

He heard a creepy chuckle and immediately got up.

* * *

Potter had fallen over. Draco didn't know why he found this so funny. Maybe he was just elated that something embarrassing had happened to someone other than himself on that day. Not that it was particularly embarrassing, since Draco had actually let out a yell of fright when his certificate jumped out at him. Obviously, chuckling was a bad move, since Potter had suddenly jumped to his feet when he heard it. Now they were standing facing each other, both at opposite ends of the dingy little room. It almost felt like old times, when Draco would make fun of Potter and Potter would snap back at him defensively. Apart from Potter hadn't snapped back, he was just looking at him. Suddenly, Narcissa's words echoed around Draco's skull.

"And if you see the Potter boy, be sure to act pleasantly. In fact, greet him like an old friend."

Greet him like an old friend? More like an old nemesis... Scar-head. Saint Potter. All the insults were coming back to him. Draco pictured an image of all his marvelous jokes at Potter's expenses being put into a book and then into a museum and then... Draco shook himself.

"Be pleasant," he told himself.

* * *

"What?" Harry enquired.

"What?" Draco replied.

"What do you mean 'be pleasant'?"

"I wasn't talking to you."

Harry looked around the empty room mockingly.

"Shut up, scar-face," Draco snapped.

"Scar-face? Honestly?"

Malfoy didn't say anything. What was with him... They both stood there, until all the tension was replaced with awkwardness.

Malfoy took a deep breath in, and shut his eyes. Then he exhaled slowly.

"What exactly are you..."

"Nothing."

"Alright." Harry turned towards the door.

"Stop!" Malfoy yelled. Slowly, Harry turned back and looked at Malfoy questioningly. "Er... Wrong door? That one leads back to the stage, Potter. Don't expect you want to go back there. Well, you might but I..."

"Okay. Bye," Harry said, walking towards the correct door, and looking back towards Malfoy like he was some odd specimen. All anger and hate was drained out of Harry, now it was just pure confusion.

Harry opened the door and was about to leave before Draco spoke. Again. For goodness' sake.

"G-good..." he began.

"Good?" said Harry.

"Good speech."

Harry just stared. Draco stared back, and then gulped. "Only joking," he laughed hastily. "You're a right saint aren't you?"

"I'd rather be a saint than a..." Harry began, but Malfoy interrupted.

"I'm not a death eater."

It was tense again.

"I was going to say prick," Harry lied, breaking the silence. He hurried towards the door. "Good speech," he laughed, shutting the door behind him.

* * *

What even... He should've just let the little saint go through the wrong door and embarrass himself. At the moment, Draco felt as if everyone in the world was just laughing at him and wanting him to fail at life. His paranoid side was taking over again. What had even just happened? He didn't know. He didn't know anything anymore. He just wanted to go home, and not to his new filthy Muggle house that him and his parents had been staying at. He wanted to go back to Malfoy Manor, but his mother wanted a fresh start and didn't want to be haunted by her past and his father was scared that someone would hunt him down and kill him. Draco felt ashamed for secretly wanting this to happen. It wasn't that he didn't love his father, but Lucius was such a nuisance to have around. So unwilling to change, and Draco had just realised how cruel his father was. He thought it was all just an act when Voldemort was alive, but now... Draco knew that his father cared about him and his mother, but he also knew that he cared about himself and his pride more.

*flashback from a few days ago*

"Filthy muggles. Draco, if I ever see you touching that filth again..." Lucius raged.

"Father, I couldn't just refuse to shake her hand!"

"Don't you dare talk back to me, you foolish little..."

"LUCIUS," Narcissa shouted, seeing him spit in her son's face. "We are not who we once were. Muggles are not filth just because they are muggles. Of course, most of them are not worth mingling with but that sweet girl was just welcoming us."

"SWEET?" cried Lucius. "You think her giggling in that pathetic way is sweet? You stupid, insolent, idiotic, putrid, demonic..."

"Don't talk to her like that," said Draco. Both Lucius and Narcissa gaped at him. After a long pause, Lucius grabbed him by the arm and dragged him to the kitchen. Narcissa ran after them but Lucius simply pointed his wand at the door and it slammed against her face. Draco tried to break free of his father's grasp, but he was too weak.

"Draco," said Lucius menacingly. "You are becoming less and less like my son every day. Soon, you'll be sorry," he spat, then stormed off.

*end of flashback*

What a joke.

* * *

"Well done, mate," Ron laughed. "Really inspirational speech."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Where's your certificate?" she asked.

"Oh," said Harry. "I left it in that room."

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed.

"I don't want it," Harry said.

"You can't just discard things like that! All of your future jobs will take your achievements into account, and this may seem futile but it shows that you..."

"Hermione," Ron interrupted. "Do you think the bloody saviour of the world needs a 'speech certificate' to prove that he's worthy to become an auror?"

Harry laughed, but Hermione looked exasperated and turned back to find Harry's certificate.

* * *

Hermione opened the door to the small, dark room and looked around. "Lumos," she said, and her wand lit up. The room had only a table. Ah. There it was, lying on the floor, looking rather trodden on. She bent down to pick it up, and then noticed something lying next to it. A wand... Hermione thought it looked rather like the wand that Harry had stolen at Malfoy Manor when his was broken. Something suddenly struck Hermione, and her head snapped up towards the door.

She let out a high-pitched scream. Sitting against the wall right behind the door was a ghostly pale boy with extremely blond hair, his grey and lifeless-looking eyes burning into hers, with what seemed like aggression. She took a few steps backwards and tripped over the hem of her robes.

She looked at the certificate in her hands and back to the boy sitting against the wall, looking as if he had just been kissed by a dementor. This wasn't Harry's certificate...

"Calm down, Hermione, it's only Malfoy. He's probably just been crying or something." she thought to herself.

"Where's... Where's Harry's certificate?" she asked.

Draco's eyes moved (which just about convinced Hermione that he wasn't a statue) towards another spot on the floor, and sure enough the certificate was there. Hermione picked it up and hurried away, feeling his stone cold eyes follow her out.

She was sure she had swung the door shut, but she didn't hear it click shut. She turned around, let out another scream. There he was, standing in the doorway. He began to mutter something to himself. Hermione tried to lip read but all she got was "peasant". Knowing him, that was probably actually what he was saying.

* * *

Be pleasant, be pleasant. How? After years of calling her a mudblood and just generally being rather unkind, he didn't actually know how to be nice to her. And he was still angry at her for making his father slap him. Of course she didn't physically make him slap him, but she may as well have. Getting better marks then him all the time... It wasn't fair.

Be pleasant, Draco.

Okay. Right.

Draco tried to smile, but ended up grinning fakely.

Granger looked horrified. He didn't know why, Draco personally found his teeth quite dazzling. They were as white as teeth could possibly get. Granger turned around and walked away with haste. What was her problem?

* * *

"...and then," Hermione whimpered. "He... He..."

"Go on," Harry urged.

"He started baring his teeth...and...and... It was just so frightening. I couldn't deal with it... I had to get away."

Harry and Ron exchanged dark looks while Hermione buried her head into her hands. Hagrid, on the other hand, who had joined them at Grimauld place, was laughing hysterically. A fat tear dropped into Hermione's tea, and she looked up at Hagrid with disgust. "What could be so funny that has caused you to cry into my tea?" she questioned.

Hagrid banged his fist onto the table, causing everyone's tea to spill. Harry winced as some of it burnt him.

"It's jus'," Hagrid laughed. "Tha' Malfoy, he's bin tryin' ter change 'is ways by the looks of it. And I suspec'," he wiped a tear from under his eye. "tha' he was tryin' ter be friendly!"

Everyone just stared.

"Erm, Hagrid, would you like me to repeat the story? You must have misheard," Hermione said. "I'll start from when he gave me a ghostly stare..."

"No, no," Harry interrupted. "That does actually make sense... I was really confused, you see. He was acting really weird, but now I can see how he must've thought he was being...nice."

"This is Malfoy we're talking about, right?" said Ron, looking amazed.

"Yeah, I reckon he's changed, or he thinks he has," Harry replied. "But he's still a git."

"Oh, but of course!" Hermione exclaimed. "How cruel of us! The poor boy..."

Ron's mouth hung open. "I can't believe you're saying this, Hermione."

"Why? It was so stupid of me. He was smiling. Actually smiling. At me!"

Harry and Ron looked at each other, their earlier thoughts coming back to them. It wasn't funny anymore though, now that it could actually be true.

"Oh, c'mon you two," Hagrid said. "I know wha' yer thinking, and you can stop righ' now."

"But Hagrid, it would explain everything," Ron insisted.

"What are you talking about?" asked Hermione. No one said anything. "Tell me."

Harry looked down. "Well..." he said. "Earlier, when Malfoy was staring at you...and then this...grinning… We just think that it's possible-"

"Oh please," said Hermione, knowing exactly what he was getting at. "Don't be ridiculous. He was acting odd with you as well, wasn't he? And what about his speech? He's obviously trying to just be nice in general. Wonder how long it will last..."

**A.N.: Leave your thoughts in a review, and thank you for reading. I'm working on the next chapter, but will only upload if people seem so like this. Thanks.**


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